


This Side Of Memory

by princesscas



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Gen, Memory Loss, Post-Calamity Ganon, So much angst, look revali's theme makes me emotional and this is where I diverted that energy, possibly revalink. possibly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27165523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princesscas/pseuds/princesscas
Summary: Kass knows more about the Hylian in the village than he cares to admit. When Link asks for an inspired song, he figures it’s the least he can do. After all, failure is not a burden one should have to shoulder on their own.alternatively: Link and Kass struggle with this thing called ‘emotion’
Relationships: Kass & Link (Legend of Zelda), Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	This Side Of Memory

**Author's Note:**

> unofficially in honor of Fav's birthday, a dump truck of angst.
> 
> is it Revalink? you decide. my answer is yes, but if you don’t ship it, you’re still good to go on this one! easily readable as platonic.
> 
> mild spoilers, they’re very vague! rated G because for once I didn’t swear, woah
> 
> also, second person? yes. I wrote more second person.

He’s back.

It’s the finest edge of morning, and even then the term ‘morning’ is generous. The sky is stained pink at the edges, and the blue that shines through in the sky is still darker than his cerulean tunic, the one he’s always worn, every time he’s come here. Sometimes he dons the traditional rito apparel that he’d apparently bought a while back, but other than that, always the tunic. You’ve seen him in it countless times, and yet you’ve never asked about it. It’s a similar color to the scarf Champion Revali used to wear.

The Elder told you that he was assumed to be a descendant of the Hylian Champion, but you’re not so sure. He can use the same legendary sword, he bears the same name, he uses the same Sheikah device the princess did, he wears the same champion’s colors. Your teacher also told you that some of his fellow Sheikah engineers were working on something that they called the Shrine of Resurrection, on the Great Plateau.

Link says he woke up on the Great Plateau.

You’re not unintelligent. You’ve put the pieces together. Still, it’s something you keep to yourself, if only for his sake. Clearly if the others don’t know, he doesn’t want them knowing, and who would you be to disrespect his wishes?

For once, he doesn’t hop the fence from the shrine, instead respectfully walking around along the wooden path like everyone else. That’s kind of him. Usually you and Teba are the only ones willing to make his excuses, plead his case, but perhaps he’s caught wind of your efforts. Whatever his reasoning may be, you’re not complaining.

“Link,” you offer as he draws nearer, in what you hope is a warm tone. You’re not the best at emotions sometimes. Neither is he. That’s likely part of the reason you got along in the first place. That, and your fascination with the shrines.

“Kass.” The corner of his mouth quirks upwards in a half-smile.

Link walks right up to the edge of the platform, his feet barely an inch away, and you’re about to throw your wing out to stop him from going any further when he sits down. He dangles his feet, swinging them gently from side to side as if he could somehow feel the sky parting beneath him like water.

You stay standing, for want of enough space to hold your accordion.

Today, Link only has eyes for the mountains off in the distance, or possibly the shrine along the ring of land surrounding the village, you can’t tell. He’s had days like this before. In truth, he has them fairly often. You’ve taken to calling them his ‘silent knights’, because he usually arrives at odd times, and because - well, your pun is terrible, but you’re proud of it nonetheless.

“Something on your mind, Link?” you ask softly, even though you already know the answer.

Link nods, his eyes not leaving the horizon. Again you wonder what it is he’s so captivated by, but you come to the conclusion that it’s not the landscape that he’s truly engrossed in.

“Tell me, what have you done recently?”

“Found a few new shrines,” Link answers shortly. He curls his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them like he misses the echo of someone’s embrace. “Explored more out east in Akkala. It always looks like fall there.”

“I find that to be quite beautiful. It’s a shame I don’t journey there more often. I’ll have to work that into my schedule.” You glance at him, hoping that he’ll be looking back, but instead he’s still focused on Tabantha. That’s alright, though, you can give him time. “Anything of note there I should be aware of?”

“Way up north there’s a man who loves Guardians. Name’s Robbie,” Link mumbles, but you hear him, even over the whistling wind and the rustling leaves of the trees and the sounds of the village beginning to wake up.

A moment slips by, and then another. You wait for him to add something, because you sense he has something more to say, but if he offers up whatever’s on his mind you don’t hear it. The silence isn’t uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. Words aren’t always necessary, and you know that better than most. Lots of the Rito are talkative, almost excessively so, but you seem to have been given the rare ability to stay silent. Perhaps you took their share.

“Would you play me something?” Link asks hesitantly.

“But of course,” you reply, already rifling through your portfolio of music. It’s not necessary for most of your songs, but you keep it with you, if only out of respect for your late teacher, who always did the same. “Any requests?”

“Something … that reminds you of the Rito Champion.”

You tilt your head. It’s unusual for him to wish for something inspired, but you’re willing to indulge him.

You unfasten the clasp around your accordion, and draw it open, letting it fill with air. You’re not even sure what it is that compels you to play the tune that you do, but whatever it is, it seems to be working, because Link gets that familiar faraway look in his eyes, and they turn glassy so that the light that his eyes normally absorb is reflected back instead.

Whenever you play him something, he seems to be transported to another world, another time. You’re never sure just what it is, but usually you can tell the context based on his facial expression, so you observe him. This time, he lights up, practically glowing, and you almost stop playing out of surprise.

Link only ever offers that kind of smile to his finest baked goods, and your daughters when they sing particularly well.

It’s a real smile, filled with something soft, and you can’t help but wonder what your impromptu piece sparks for him.

Unlike Link, you can’t identify it. No images spring to mind, no untapped reserves of emotions, no half-forgotten dreams, no conversations lost to the ceaseless flow of time.

You bring the song to an end rather abruptly, finishing it with a single drawn-out note. For some reason, you feel like it deserves a better ending, but you haven’t given it anything, and now that you’ve played it you can’t take it back.

“Might I ask what you saw?”

Link starts. “What I … saw?”

“Forgive me, did this piece not make you see something? Often you say they bring you memories of sorts. I was only asking out of curiosity,” you reply, guilt pronounced in your tone.

“Oh,” he says quietly, his voice lowering in pitch. “No, you were right. I saw him.” He stands up, leaning against the fence next to you, staring towards the snowed-in areas north of the village. If you’re not mistaken, that’s the direction of the flight range.

“Who is this ‘him’ you speak of?”

Link stares down at his boots, fumbling with the hilt of his sword with his fingers, and you suspect it’s just to have something to do. “Revali,” he murmurs, and you notice his shoulders sink down as the name leaves his lips. He looks oddly defeated, almost like he’s forced himself into a life he doesn’t think he deserves. You know that feeling all too well. Your teacher wrote a great many songs about that feeling.

“I suppose my music was well crafted, then,” you reply. The sun starts to brush against the tops of the mountains to the west, spilling more light onto your perch at the edge of the village with every passing minute.

“Yeah,” he echoes. You look away courteously while he swipes at his eyes. You can’t tell if he’s crying or not, but better to be safe than sorry, you think.

“Did you know him personally?”

“I did,” Link whispers. “All I have to go on is the scraps of memory I find. But I know I did.” He buries his face in his hands, smothering the glittering angry tears that spring to the corners of his eyes. “I tried so hard, and it didn’t even matter. None of it mattered. I saved their souls, but what is that supposed to mean? What good does that do?”

He’s never opened up so much at once before, and for a moment you’re silent, unsure how to respond.

“It does a world of good,” you answer, voice firm, and he glances up, making eye contact for the first time all morning. “If they’re still gone, it only means that fate’s taken them, and we cannot change the course of fate.”

Link smiles at you, and it’s the faintest shadow of what he’d given before to whatever memory he’d seen, but you figure it’s the best you’re going to get.

You’ll take it.

Once he’s gone, you record the piece in dark blue ink, alongside some of your teacher’s notes, and you title it  _ Revali’s Theme _ . Someday, maybe you’ll get the honor of teaching a student of your own, to pass along whatever wisdom you may acquire, and this will most certainly be one of the things that you’ll hand down to them.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> this is my first published fic for botw, so your support would mean the world to me! comments / kudos keep me going and make my day so please drop some love if you enjoyed!!!
> 
> also happy birthday Fav!


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